#CelebratingWomenWhoDare One of those featured is our own Dr. Mina Ogbanga.
Hailing from Nigeria, Dr. Mina Ogbanga’s was enrolled in the College of Medical Sciences when she used to dream of transforming her home country for good. In addition to being a social scientist with a PhD degree in Sustainable Development Studies and another ongoing PhD in Public Policy; Dr. Mina has research and technical interest in Renewable Energy. She has an incredibly immense track record in STEM, with specialization in clean energy.

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.” ~Maya Angelou

WWN™ #CelebratingWomenWhoDare series is excited to profile Obie Agusiegbe, –a dynamic member of Whole WoMan Network. A woman who has blazed a trail in environmental sustainability, waste management and community service.

Obie Agusiegbe is the Chief Executive Officer of EnvironFocus Incorporated.
“EnvironFocus Show and Tell” events in the Toronto area are must attend showcases, linking industry practitioners and members of their communities. They are interesting hubs with an eclectic mix of spoken-word/poetry performances, innovative products & services, engaging speakers with unique perspectives on diverse issues and in the past, some events have had finger-licking, healthy Nigerian foods (courtesy of Suya Paradise Catering & Events)!

EnvironBuzz Marketplace is an EnvironFocus Initiative run by Obie Agusiegbe, a member of the WWN Community. She created the online store to promote green vendors and their products. Featured product include LifeStraw Go With 2 – Stage Filtration and the LifeStraw Personal Water Filter shown below. To see more green products visit here.

LifeStraw Go With 2 – Stage Filtration

LifeStraw Go With 2 – Stage Filtration: The award winning LifeStraw water filter has now been incorporated into a sports bottle to give users access to safe drinking water even when there is no water source nearby. See product here.

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

The LifeStraw personal water filter: “Best Invention of the Year” (Time magazine) winner, enables users to drink water safely from most contaminated water sources. See more about product here

To read more about EnvironFocus and what they do go to http://www.environfocus.com. Also visit their blog at http://www.environfocus.com/environbuzz/. Do you live in the Greater Toronto Area? Attend the much talked about “EnvironFocus Show and Tell” event taking place at the Living Art Centre from 12-6pm on April 29, 2017. Venue: 4141 Living Arts Dr, Mississauga, ON L5B 4B8, Canada. For more information on the event click here .

“When a woman has knowledge which is power, it impacts and benefits the whole family. I’m maximizing my potential and I started doing so at the age of 21. I believe that once the women realize the potential they have and maximize it, then we will have successful homes, communities and countries.It is my calling to reach as many women and people, in general, as I can. Together, we can make poverty become something of the past.” ~Leah Karimi~Read More

Fri. April 11, 2014 from 11am – 2pm

Forbes Riley is one of today’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, a highly sought-after spokesperson, motivational key-note speaker and life coach to celebrities and CEOs. She has helped millions take positive action in their own lives by sharing her passion for and unshakeable belief in the impact a healthy lifestyle can make in your life.

Having been literally laughed off the show similar to The Shark Talk, Forbes re-mortgaged her house and went “all in”, promoting the product that she fell in love with. Long story short, she ended up selling over $2 Billion (with a “B”) worth of product primarily through TV infomercials.

E! has produced a TV special profiling each of these hot new products and their talented creators, filmed Got Rich Quick: Outrageous Fortunes. Forbes, crowned “America’s Fitness Innovator,” is passionate about finding unique ways for people to get and stay healthy through food and exercise. She’s known worldwide for starring in the feature film about raw food, Super Charge Me!

Please join Forbes Riley and dozens of other success-focused female entrepreneurs and professionals for a luncheon on Friday, April 11, 2014 at Delta Toronto Airport West from 11am – 2pm

The founder of the Richmond Hill Women’s Networking Association, Josephine Vaccaro-Chang, has handed leadership of the Association over to Miss Angel Freedman, effective immediately. The Association has a strong membership and Miss Freedman looks forward to getting started. The first meeting of the year is on Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the York Regional Police Station, Community Room, 171 Major Mackenzie Drive, Richmond Hill, ON.

Miss Freedman brings her expansive business experience, marketing skills, community engagement and social work background to the group.

Miss freedman looks forward to her new role as President of the Richmond Hill Women’s Networking Association, “Where York Region’s Business Women Gather in Richmond Hill.”

At this time we want to thank Josephine Vaccaro –Chang for making Richmond Hill a better place to live, work and play! We wish you great success in your future endeavours.

If you want to learn more about the Richmond Hill Women’s Networking Association and how to RSVP for this very important first meeting, please contact Miss Angel Freedman angelfreedman@rogers.com 905-780-8119.

You wake up one day and you’re two years shy of 40. You’ve reached a point when it’s no longer about the pay check or the title on the door. Something is missing. Then it hits you. It’s the desire for significance, to make a difference, to give back, to connect, to grow, to be fulfilled, to have time-freedom, flexibility, to ‘work-to-live’ and not merely ‘live-to-work.’ You want to thrive and not just survive in this new ‘Empathy-driven’ economy! You come to the realization that you would have to give up something(s) in order to get the time you require to pursue the life of your dreams.

And so, you give up that six-figure `safe` world. You take up a part-time, minimum wage job, and as you go through the repetitive motions of ‘work’, you hone your ideas and spend lunch hours scribbling on now tattered papers. Of course, the people in your life look at you and even though they don`t say it aloud, you know what they`re thinking: `She is absolutely crazy!’ You know because some days, you think so too. Still, you learn to practice selective hearing and ignore the pitying glances.

Yet, the ideas won`t leave you. You glow when talking about your vision. Time flies when you work on your business plan. You know in your gut that this plan is also your life plan. And life doesn’t stop; commitments to Mr. Rogers, Madame Bell and Ms. Enbridge still need to be kept! So you make sacrifices, cut off cable, stop eating out, become a coupon collector and a bargain shopper. You build a strong bond with the local library and develop inhuman radar for store-wide neon ‘sales’ and get on every thrift store’s mailing list.

Yes, the ideas keep you up at night and so you pray harder and cry to HIM for guidance. And finally one day, you finally take the plunge! You start small, you whisper to a friend, and tell a family member and you ask them to tell others. You find a network of fellow ‘crazy’ people to motivate and guide you. Even with all that passion, fire, focus and hard-work, the butterflies won`t leave you, the nerves hit you again and again. But you just keep going…a little step forward each day because you no longer have a choice. You must either act or die a very slow death!

You worry about monetizing what you love. Will the clients ever come? Does it make any sense at all? You wonder if those voices are right after all Perhaps, you’re really throwing your life away. You begin to question if you missed the easy turn to ‘Reality-Land’ and took the enticing but difficult turn to ‘La-la Land.’ You look around for resources to help small businesses and stumble upon an amazing group of life-business coaches: Crystal Andrus, Ali Brown, Marie Forleo, Lisa Sasevich and Mike Klingler and their unique approach to ‘Collaborative and Value-based Marketing.’

And then suddenly, after years of slugging away, you wake up to find strangers calling you. Yes, you. Emailing, texting, begging to buy your products and services. They`re now your biggest and most passionate advocates and happily spread the word for you. You know you’ve hit the sweet spot when they pay you to speak, to share, to collaborate. You are glowing again. This time, it’s with the unique light of success.

And like a miracle, you, who begged and bugged friends and family to refer clients, utter these magical words: `I am not currently taking clients at the moment, but is it okay if I put you on my waiting list? ` And as soon as the words leave your lips and you hear their excited voices say: `yes`, you begin to sweat, to tremble, to shake. You double over with joy, with humility, with gratitude, with love and fall on your knees. As the tears roll down, you whisper again and again: `Lord, I am grateful, Jesus I love you, Baba, I thank you, I thank you, I thank you!`

In that moment, you realize that you must share this. You must tell other budding women Entrepreneurs like yourself, those brave souls around the world busy with juggling life, chasing dreams, pursuing passions, going against convention, staying up at night, alone, with nothing but their dreams and ideas for company. You must encourage them to keep going, to never let up, to never give up because one day, they too shall say: `I am not currently taking clients at the moment, but is it okay if I put you on my waiting list? `